Toothbrush



Aug. 1 1926. 1,595,715

J. M. DUDLEY TOOTHBRUSH Filed June 13, 1925 WITNESSES Y INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 10, 1926. I

UNITED STATES PATENT (OFFICE.

TOOTH BBUSE.

Application filed June 13, 1925. Serial 110.36376.

The present invention relates to an improvement in toothbrushes especially designed to brush and clean the backs of the teeth and between them, and to properly massage the gums whereby to keep the gums in a healthy condition.

A further object is to provide a toothbrush having these advantages and capacities and which is of simple and durable construction reliable and effective in operation, easy to manipulate and easy and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages reside in certain novel features of the construction, arrangement and combination of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompan ingdrawings forming a part of this speci cation, and in which: A

Figure 1 is a perspective-view showing a toothbrush constructed in accordance with the present invention, and

Figures 2 and 3 are views in elevation illustrating diflerent phases in the brushing and massaging operation.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the handle of the brush which has a head 2 integrally formed therewith and disposed at an obtuse angle with respect thereto. Bristles 3- are embedded or connected to the head 2 in the usual way, one end of the tufts 0r bristles being securely fastened to the head and the other end being free.

A lip 4 is integrally formed with theouter end of the head 2 and extends at substantially right angles thereto. The lip 4 is engageable with the adjacent bristles intermediate their ends, and is designed to support the bristles and cause them to form a massaging pad.

In using the brush the handle 1 is grasped and the bristles 3 are presented to the ,backs of the teeth, an operation made easy by virtue of the relation of the head 2 to the han-- dle 1 and the extension of the bristles from the underside of the head. The brush may then be moved up and down to clean the teeth and massage the gums. As the brush is moved down thebristles are free to flex, and while tending to clean off the surfaces of the teeth do not tend to wedge particles of food in-between the teeth or in between the gums and the teeth. On the upstroke the bristles are supported by the lip 4 to limit their flexion and to cause them to form a pad as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, which massages the gum so as to stimulate the circulation therein and generally condition the gums to prevent recession or other unhealthy conditions therein. The inherent resiliency of the bristles tends to cause them to spring up from the supporting lip a as the brush nears the upper end of its stroke, so that the bristles more effectively clean the teeth since they tend to dislodge food or any other particles from between the gums and the teeth or from the teeth as well as from the surface thereof.

It is to be understood that with applicants device a massaging pad is formed only as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, the massaging pad being constituted by the bristles of the brush when said bristles are flexed about the lip 4 and not only stiffened but also caused to engage each other as illustrated.

I claim v A tooth brush having a head and bristles and a lip formed on one end of the head and extending substantially parallel to the bristles but terminating short of the outer ends of the bristles, said lip being engageable with the end bristles at a point intermediate their ends to support the bristles and cause them to form a massaging pad when the bristles are flexed thereagainst.

. JAMES MflDUDLEY. k 

